“Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.” ~George Bernard Shaw As a leadership speaker, coach, and consultant for a few decades, I have come to the realization that not every company or leader who says that they want change, really does. The reasons vary, and while…
“It is impossible to live without failing at something unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all, in which case you have failed by default.” ~J.K. Rowling One way to more powerfully influence others is to leverage your failures. People don’t realize the power of failure and…
“When dealing with people, remember you are not dealing with creatures of logic, but with creatures of emotion.” ~ Dale Carnegie There is plenty of research on the role that emotions play in the decision-making process. Some folks believe that people make decisions based on rational analysis. And yet, research shows that emotions play a…
“We all have needs, and we will find a way to get those needs met in either a healthy or an unhealthy way” ~ Joe Contrera Studies have shown that you can boil human behavior down into 4 basic categories. People are either driven by a need to be right, to be liked, to…
“Anyone can hide. Facing up to things, working through them, that’s what makes you strong.” ~ Sarah Dessen Many years ago, Mutual of Omaha Insurance Company sponsored a show called The Wild Kingdom. It was a show hosted by Marlin Perkins along with his co-host, Jim Fowler. Each an every Sunday night they took…
“Training is something you do to animals, education is something you do for people.” ~ Joe Contrera Transactions & Exchanges When you go through the drive thru at McDonald’s, there’s a good chance you’re not going for a culinary experience. Going through the drive-thru there is a process that happens about 35 million times…
“We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.” – T.S. Elliot At certain times in the career of a leader, you may find yourself feeling a bit lost or a little confused. Maybe you’re bored with…
“We all have blind-spots, but if we are willing to open our ears to feedback and our eyes to how others react to us, we can improve our impact as leaders ten-fold” ~Joe Contrera People always ask me, “What can I do to increase my impact as a leader?” That said, everyone has a…
“All creation is a mine, and every man is a miner.” ~ Abraham Lincoln A while back, I was working with a group of leaders from a gold mining company to help them strengthen their Coaching Skills. Towards the end of the week I had an opportunity to tour the mine. My guide Jesse…
“There’s a fine line between fishing and just standing on the shore like an idiot.” ~Steven Wright When it comes to fishing, a lot of fishermen use a leader (an additional section of wire or line) to quickly connect or replace the hook or the lure to the fishing line. The type of leader…